Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

When the clock struck at 4pm on Tuesday afternoon, trades were still funneling in to the MLB offices. Seemingly for the first time in years, every name (except for any big name on the New York Mets) that had been mentioned in trade rumors was traded by the deadline. The more surprising thing is where some of these players ended up on this final day. Here are the winners and losers on this final day of the trading deadline (not the deadline as a whole) as we head on the road to October.

Winners:

Atlanta Braves –

Hot-lanta made an 11th hour move as they landed Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day from Baltimore without giving up the farm. Top prospect Austin Riley didn’t need to be traded, which was the biggest concern in Atlanta. Gausman has extremely good numbers pitching outside of the American League East while O’Day has a proven track record of being a good set-up man. Jonny Venters has also made his way back to Atlanta as the three time Tommy John surgery patient could be a useful lefty specialist against the likes of Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and so on. The Braves had already acquired Adam Duvall and Brad Brach prior, so these moves filled necessary holes without giving up too much. They’re right in the thick of it with Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh Pirates –

Acquiring Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers on Monday night is probably one of the more under the radar moves at this year’s deadline, getting Felipe Vazquez a good table setter to help close games down. However, Pittsburgh landing Chris Archer from Tampa Bay is by the far the most surprising and important move of the deadline. Pittsburgh’s recent run has them in the thick of the wild card race and Archer has ace potential. Archer being taken away from a team such as Milwaukee who needed a starter badly will end up paying dividends. Granted, Pittsburgh did give up a lot to get Archer (a package featuring Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow) but with Archer’s team friendly contract over the next few years, the Pirates could always trade him next year or the year after and get a King’s ransom if he is able to go back to his dominant form. Don’t sleep on the Pirates.

Los Angeles Dodgers –

I definitely did not see Brian Dozier getting traded to the Dodgers coming.

Really thought Chris Archer or maybe even Kevin Gausman would be the final piece for Los Angeles to acquire, but instead they decided to focus on hitting. The acquisition of Dozier didn’t cost them Alex Verdugo, which is a win in itself. Dozier could break out into an unstoppable hitter at any moment, making the Dodgers’ lineup all the more scary. An infield that will now have Manny Machado AND Brian Dozier joining Chris Taylor and Max Muncy/Cody Bellinger . . . this is without Justin Turner who is injured at the moment.

Absolutely frightening if you are an opposing pitcher.

Cleveland Indians –

Why are the Indians on here?

Well, they were one of the few playoff bound teams who really didn’t have to do much, but the move they did make although small, could be an extremely good one. They acquired Leonys Martin from the Detroit Tigers for virtually nothing.

Martin has the power and speed combination to be a pivotal part of the lineup. Cleveland has been forced to platoon players such as Melky Cabrera, Greg Allen, Rajai Davis and more in the outfield but it hasn’t worked out too well. Tyler Naquin, Bradley Zimmer and Lonnie Chisenhall have all been dealing with injuries on and off throughout the season so somebody like Martin will provide stability in the lineup and defensively as well. Sometimes it is the little moves that can put a team to that next level.

Tampa Bay Rays –

I almost did not include them, but with the haul they received for Archer, combined with acquiring Tommy Pham, they are putting themselves in good position for the future. I did feel they gave up quite a bit for Pham and trading Wilson Ramos for such a small return seemed odd, but Tampa always figures out a way to get things done as they look to the future as per usual. Before trading Archer, it was hard to tell if they were playing to win this year or the future, but the Archer deal solidified their win later stance.

Losers:

New York Mets –

Before yesterday’s deadline, the team moved Asdrubal Cabrera and Jeurys Familia for pretty much nothing. This prompted an outcry from their fans for the removal of the Wilpons as owners of the team (similar to Frank McCourt of the Los Angeles Dodgers) as soon as possible. When the clock struck 4pm on Tuesday, the Mets did absolutely nothing. They didn’t trade Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Jose Bautista, nobody. Followed by their absence, the team then suffered their worst loss in franchise history, 25-4 to the Washington Nationals. This almost certainly spells August trades in which the Mets give up Bautista and others for even less than nothing. The franchise is a complete an utter disaster.

Boston Red Sox –

They’re only losers for the mere fact Chris Sale went on the disabled list right as the deadline passed. If this happened a day earlier, it’s almost a guarantee Boston would have inquired for starting pitching and made a corresponding move. They now have Eduardo Rodriguez and Sale out indefinitely. Sure would love Chris Archer, Gio Gonzalez or even somebody like a Zack Wheeler right about now.

Milwaukee Brewers –

I know they bolstered their lineup to one of the best in baseball by getting Mike Moustakas last week and Jonathan Schoop yesterday at the deadline, but their starting pitching is mediocre at best. Losing out on Archer is a HUGE blow to them. Pitching was the necessary move they needed to make and they didn’t get it done. The assumption is they are going to lean heavily on their bullpen. It’s very risky.

Detroit Tigers –

The team that really needed to rebuild pretty much did nothing at the deadline except trade Leonys Martin to Cleveland. Detroit had guys such as Shane Greene and Jordan Zimmermann who could have fetched some type of solid return, but injuries and under-performing from both the past few weeks put the hammer down on accomplishing anything of note for the team. Detroit is in dire times and it isn’t going to get any better any time soon. Expect Greene to be traded this month during the non-waiver deadline, but for very little if anything at all.